Our client and the project

Agile development

Our client develops innovative satellite propulsion systems and combines high-performance engineering with scalable, highly efficient production.

Products: electric satellite propulsion systems based on ion technology

Revenue: €20 million

Employees: 60

Client: CEO

Duration: 3 months

Consulting days: 15

Two product families, one goal

Efficiently manage the dynamics of priority changes with simultaneous new product development and product maintenance

Our customer was faced with an exciting challenge: two development teams with members of different nationalities, each responsible for a complete product family, were to efficiently manage new product development, product maintenance and variant management in the future. Traditional project plans quickly reached their limits. The dynamics were simply far too great. The solution: an agile working model that offers both structure and flexibility. This is how we started the agile transformation - not as an experiment, but as a conscious commitment. 

Getting started

To kick things off, we supported the introduction of agile working methods with a clearly structured setup

  • Agile basic training created a common understanding of agile thinking within the team and laid the methodological foundation.
  • The roles of product owner, scrum master and development team were defined in line with the context.
  • In a jointly developed working agreement, the teams established binding rules for cooperation, communication and responsibility.
  • Product visions provided both teams with clear guidelines – both technologically and in terms of the market.
  • The creation of an initial product backlog enabled a direct start to the operational work.

Two weeks

A rhythm for focus and progress

Work was carried out in two-week sprint cycles in order to be able to manage both development projects and maintenance projects in parallel.

The agile ceremonies - sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews and retrospectives - quickly became part of the new routine. They not only created transparency, but also promoted joint learning within the team.

The retrospectives in particular quickly developed into a driving force for continuous improvement: whether better prioritization of maintenance tasks or the simplification of interfaces - the teams regularly identified concrete measures and implemented them directly. 

Findings from practice

Short sprints are ideal in a highly dynamic environment

  • Agility can also be effectively embedded in technology-driven industrial companies and for physical products – if it is tailored to the specific context.
  • A competent product owner and the product backlog play a central role here – as a dynamic tool for prioritisation and coordination.
  • Working in autonomous teams responsible for specific products strengthens identification and accelerates implementation.
  • Agility is not a goal, but a path – and it begins with a common understanding and clear first steps.